covered cause of loss

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When Super Storm Sandy struck the Northeast on October 29, 2012, states, cities, municipalities and towns up and down the East Coast ordered hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate from their homes and businesses.  In the aftermath of those mandatory evacuations, I published an article in the April 2013 issue of DRI’s For The…

This case generally reaffirms the commitment of the Florida courts to contractual appraisal rights in the absence of waiver. In First Protective Ins. Co., v. Schneider Family Partnership, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 19701 (Fla. 2nd DCA, Nov. 14, 2012), the court addressed a claim for insurance coverage for property damage sustained during Hurricane…

CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE.  CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYER.

Today the Virginia Supreme Court, in answering a certified question from the federal Fourth Circuit, held unanimously that a homeowners’ insurance policy did not provide coverage for a loss caused by Chinese-made drywall. In TravCo Insurance Company v. Ward, Record No. 120347, slip op. (Va. Nov. 1, 2012), the court was asked to interpret exclusions for loss caused by: (1) latent defect; (2) faulty, inadequate, or defective materials; (3) rust or other corrosion; and (4) pollutants, defined to include any gaseous irritant or contaminant. The court held that “each of the four exclusions is unambiguous and reasonable in its form, scope and application and excludes damage resulting from the Chinese drywall from coverage.” Id. at 4. Here are a few quotes from the opinion:
Continue Reading Insurance Coverage for Chinese Drywall: Virginia Supreme Court Finds Coverage Excluded By Homeowners’ Policies in TravCo Insurance Company v. Ward

Insurers are starting to deploy adjusters to handle claims from Hurricane Sandy. An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reports that “Disaster-modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates the industry’s share of losses at $7 billion to $15 billion. At the high end of that range, Sandy would become the third-most expensive storm for insurers in U.S.…

In Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Ltd v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140257 (D.Md., Sept. 28, 2012), the federal district court for the district of Maryland addressed an important issue regarding contingent business interruption coverage – what is a “direct” supplier of goods or services. As is explained in the opinion, contingent…